Fight between two males, how to treat wounds

[khartley]

It is entirely my fault that this happened but just know I do not keep my rescue dragons where they can be around each other, most can't even see each other. But I was cleaning today and I usually let one run around in my bedroom and another in the living room while I'm cleaning cages, just to let them have a little run around time.

Anyways, I had my 6ish year old male in the living room and my 2 year old male in my bedroom. I had to get something out of my bedroom and when I left I forgot to shut the door, which I NEVER do, so I'm really mad at myself. Long story short, they meet and fight. I was vacuuming and couldn't hear them for a bit, so it was probably a good ten minutes before I figured it out.

When I got to them, the younger one was biting the old ones back thigh, I had to PRY his jaws apart for the older guy to get loose. I separate them and inspect the old guys wounds first. He has a deep gash on his tail that bled quite a bit. Not bone deep, but in the meat for sure. I thought his leg would be hurt, and though he is favoring it slightly, it isn't cut.

The younger one has a deep cut on his face from an apparent bite. Also his tail must have been bitten twice. One is about 3/4" from the tip and it is comletely severed and just hanging on by a thread of skin or flesh. The second bite is about a half inch away from the first. It is a deep cut but still intact.

I feel so bad. In the 3 years I've been rescuing I've never done anything so careless. I'm just thankful I found them right away.

How should I doctor these guys? Just soak them in warm water, maybe a dab of iodine on the tail cuts? Not sure how to treat the face cut, it is close to his eye. Should I put some iodine on the tail cuts and petroleum jelly, and wrap them with gauze?

Also, does anyone know of an easier way to get a dragon to let go of something other than prying? I had a really hard time getting his jaws open. If it had been the big one I don't think I could have gotten them open.

Thanks in advance.

 

[khartley]

I forgot to add that both of them basked and ate afterwards.

 

[AHBD]

Sorry to hear this ! Don't be upset with yourself, you surely didn't intend for this to happen and we all make mistakes. Can you post some pics of the wounds ? For the face you can safely use raw, unpasteurized honey, it's a natural antimicrobial and it should heal up any wound + take care of potential infection . You can use a watered down Betadine or honey for the tail . You might soak the tail in betadine , let it dry and then apply honey. Dab it on the leg, too. If you think part of the tail is able to be saved you can put honey on it + then a large bandaid or gauze. They should be able to heal up O.K. If you think the wounds are really severe you can see about getting to an experienced reptile vet but they're eating is a good sign.

 

[SquirtTheDragon]

Sorry that this happened! for the older male's cut if it is still bleeding, drizzle some cornstarch on it to coagulate the blood and stop further bleeding. Slow away extra cornstarch and apply some unpasteurized honey. You can find this at a drug store or a bee keeper. For the younger one, sterilize some precision scissors using rubbing alcohol, and cut the small bit of tail that is hanging on. after that, sprinkle cornstarch on the cuts to prevent further bleeding and apply some unpasteurized honey to all of the cuts. As long as they are eating and pooing, everything should be okay. Watch the cuts closely until they heal, making sure there is no infection. If an infection starts, get to your reptile vet immediately, especially for the younger one with the bite on its head. Good luck!

 

[khartley]

Thanks for the replies. The honey and cornstarch are good ideas. The younger one is healing well, other than his piece of tail is still hanging on by a thread. I'll go ahead and clip that off today. He must have drug it under a couch or table, there are a bunch of cat hairs stuck to it, but I didn't want to try and pull them off...

The older one I'm watching closely. I remember nearly having the end of my finger ripped off when it got smashed several years ago, I never went to the dr for it, I just soaked it in epsom salt and iodine twice a day til it started healing. Would it be alright to soak the older dragons tail in a mild solution of epsom salt and iodine, then apply cornstarch if necessary and honey over that?

I should have mentioned that the older dragon is a rescue that was found outside and thought to have been frozen to death and so he was actually thrown away in the garbage. Most of his tail had to be amputated, he's got about a 3" stub left. It healed fine, and I actually took the stitches out myself about six weeks after the surgery. So its actually the end of his stub that got hurt.

I got pictures of the young ones wounds. I forgot to take a picture of the older one, I'll remember to do that in the morning. Here is a picture that shows his stub tail though, to get an idea.

 

[AHBD]

The face wound should do just fine with unpasteurized honey, I used it on my own beardies cut and even directly in the eye. The smaller dragon's tail end needs to come off, [ the crooked part with cat hair on it ] it looks like it's already falling off there and can't be saved. You can sterilize a pair of scissors and snip the end piece off, then use the cornstarch if it bleeds [ it may not ] and apply honey and a bandaid around it. Watch the second area + treat it with a betadine/water mix, then apply a bit of honey + a bandaid.

I can't really see much of the big guys wound but it doesn't look infected or anything. Just use betadine and honey on that....if anything starts looking worse, which I doubt , then get to an expperienced reptile vet. But that all looks like it will heal O.K.

 

[SquirtTheDragon]

I don't suggest Epsom salt as it is all artificial. It can be toxic to beardies if ingested. Just use betadine as AHBD said. Good luck!